International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board (IRB), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is the world governing and law-making body for the game of Rugby Union (as opposed to Rugby League - see the respective entries for differences between the two).
The Executive Council, meets twice a year. It consists of the eight Unions each with two seats – Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Four unions have one seat each – Argentina, Canada, Italy and Japan as does FIRA–AER. The full membership meets at a General Meeting which is convened every two years. Regional meetings are held at regular intervals.
There are a number of tournaments under IRB control: the Rugby Union World Cup, the Womens Rugby World Cup, Rugby World Cup Sevens, IRB Sevens, Under 21 World Cup, Under 19 World Championship and the Super Powers Cup.
History
The board was founded in 1886 (see The history of the International Rugby Board).
| National Rugby Unions of the IRB
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Andorra |
Arabian Gulf |
Argentina |
Australia |
Austria |
Bahamas |
Barbados |
Belgium |
Bermuda |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
Botswana |
Brazil |
Bulgaria |
Cameroon |
Canada |
Cayman Islands |
Chile |
China |
Chinese Taipei |
Columbia |
Cook Islands |
Croatia |
Czech Republic |
Denmark |
England |
Fiji |
Finland |
France |
Georgia |
Germany |
Guam |
Guyana |
Hong Kong |
Hungary |
India |
Ireland |
Israel |
Italy |
Ivory Coast |
Jamaica |
Japan |
Kazakhstan |
Kenya |
Latvia |
Lithuania |
Luxemburg |
Madagascar |
Malaysia |
Malta |
Moldova |
Monaco |
Morocco |
Namibia |
Netherlands |
New Zealand |
Nigeria |
Niue Island |
Norwegian |
Papua New Guinea |
Paraguay |
Peru |
Poland |
Portugal |
Romania |
Russia |
St. Lucia |
St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
Samoa |
Scotland |
Serbia and Montenegro |
Senegal |
Singapore |
Slovenia |
Solomon Islands |
South Africa |
South Korea |
Spain |
Sri Lanka |
Swaziland |
Sweden |
Switzerland |
Tahiti |
Thailand |
Tonga |
Trinidad and Tobago |
Tunisia |
Uganda |
Ukraine |
Uruguay |
U.S.A. |
Vanuatu |
Venezuela |
Wales |
Zambia |
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